Keeping In Touch With Your Intuition: Jacqueline Fisch Of The Intuitive Writing School On How To Get In Touch With Your Intuition And When To Trust Your Intuition When Making Decisions
An Interview With Maria Angelova
Get into your body. Get to know, understand, and trust the messages your body is sharing — sometimes screaming. Our bodies are wise. Every stomach rumble, rash, or ache has a message. To become present in the body, try movement practices like yoga, walking outdoors, and sitting quietly.
Intuition is defined as the ability to understand something immediately without the need for conscious reasoning. Where does intuition come from? Can it be trusted? How can someone tune in to their intuition? To address these questions, we are talking to business leaders, coaches, mental health experts, authors, and anyone who is an authority on “How to Get In Touch With Your Intuition And When To Trust Your Intuition When Making Decisions.” As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jacqueline Fisch of The Intuitive Writing School.
Jacqueline Fisch is an author, copywriter, and intuitive writing coach. She’s the founder of The Intuitive Writing School, a space for creatives who have a writing project on their heart and business owners who want to sound authentic while they make an impact on the world.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we start, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?
Like most kids, you would have called me creative. Growing up, you’d probably find me sitting on my bedroom floor with a sketchpad, drawing my cat, and coloring life-sized murals on my childhood walls (with my parent’s permission).
At 10, I wanted to become a famous fashion designer and live in Paris. A departure from the Toronto suburb where I grew up. I had stacks of spiral-bound sketchbooks overflowing with original designs. Some were radical — things you’d find in high-fashion magazines, and some were tiny improvements in the clothes I was already wearing.
Slowly, over the years, my Parisian fashion dreams faded, and I conjured up a story — “Fashion school is hard to get into and I don’t know how to sew.”
Instead, I went to business school, studied marketing, and landed in management consulting and, later crisis communications. Sure, my work had creative components, but it wasn’t nearly as colorful.
I skillfully climbed the corporate ladder. The word “creative” wasn’t part of my vocabulary. Creativity didn’t belong in my professional world — that was for other people
I completely identified with my job — it made me feel important.
After three layoffs in five years (two from the same company), I knew I had to do things differently. Job security proved a myth. It wasn’t like I was enjoying everything about my work either.
With two young kids, I was rushing around, commuting, and barely having time leftover for life.
In 2012 I started a plant-based food blog when I changed our family’s diet overnight to avoid an unnecessary tonsillectomy for my toddler. Every night I’d write new healthy plant-based recipes, tell stories, and share them on my new blog.
Over time, I lost interest in writing about food. I discovered that it was writing underneath everything I did in my corporate career and spare time that lit me up the most. Looking back, I realized I quickly became the go-to in all my corporate jobs when anyone needed writing help. Whether it was writing proposals to sell millions of dollars of work, spiffing up a LinkedIn profile, or editing crisis communications, I was drawn to all this work.
In 2015 I decided to take business into my own hands and start a copywriting business. I worked with solopreneurs, tech startups, coaches, and doctors — I had a lot of natural writing and editing skills that I could apply to help them stand out. I grew that business on the side while still in my corporate career until I had enough clients and momentum to take it full-time.
I went full-time in my business in 2017 and stepped off the corporate ladder for good.
From there, copywriting evolved into coaching. Today, I write and edit copy for businesses, teach others how to write for their businesses, and lead a writing community.
In all my work, I let my intuition guide the way. I don’t have any formal education in writing or grammar. I write to connect and share truth.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Besides, no one’s interested in something you didn’t do.” From the song, Wheat Kings, by The Tragically Hip.
Growing up in Canada, “The Hip” is a staple soundtrack for long weekends on northern lakes and at campfires. This line always stood out to me.
We hear people talk all the time about the things they want to do, should have done, or wished they’d done differently. That’s boring. I want to hear stories about what you’ve done. Tell me about your experience. Share what you saw. Let me know how you felt. No hypotheticals, just your real, lived experiences.
This quote is also a reminder to me. If I notice I’m talking about my plans more than what I’m taking action on, something needs to change.
For instance, for years before I wrote my book, Unfussy Life, I’d talked about writing a book — you know — someday. I grew tired of talking about writing my book. I needed to start writing it. I published the book in 2021 and am about to self-publish my next book on intuitive writing.
Is there a particular book, podcast, or film that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
The musical Rent (turned film), used to make me feel a pang of sadness. I’ve seen the play three times live — New York, Chicago, and Toronto. I’ve also watched the movie multiple times
In one song, “Seasons of Love,” there’s a line, “Five hundred twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes. How do you measure, measure a year?”
So, how do you measure a year? Like the song suggests, with contracts, coffee, and dollars?
No, you measure a year in love.
My eyes used to well up when listening to this song because I wasn’t living life how I wanted. I was a people pleaser. Everything looked fine enough on the surface, but I was neck deep in things I didn’t need, a job that left me feeling empty, and no time to even think about what I truly wanted.
I needed change. I knew things in my life were “off,” and it all felt overwhelming at times. I didn’t know where to start.
One foot in front of the other, I started with one small change, then another, and another until I could paint a life I could truly get excited about.
Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. Let’s begin with a definition of terms so that each of us and our readers are on the same page. What exactly does intuition mean? Can you explain?
Intuition is a knowing. It’s trusting the knowledge we receive without seeing any evidence. Intuition happens in our bodies, not in our brains. We can’t think our way to intuition. We can only stop forcing and allow intuition to speak. Listening to your intuition is a massive trust exercise.
How would you define common sense? Are intuition and common sense related?
Common sense is a judgment that someone makes based on their personal filters — culture, upbringing, and environment. “Common” implies that we should know something, which depending on the context, may not apply.
Intuition and common sense are unrelated. People often make decisions based on what they’re calling their intuition, but it’s coming from their minds, conditioning, and their perceptions.
How are they different from each other?
Intuition comes from your soul, higher self, God, Jesus, or the Divine. Common sense comes from your mind, where we reason our way there.
What are the positive aspects of being in touch with your intuition? Can you give a story or example to explain what you mean?
Your intuition will always guide you toward what’s right for you. It might not always be easy or comfortable, but it will be what’s best for your highest path. When you lead a life trusting your intuition, decision-making is easy. It doesn’t require overthinking, making lists of pros and cons, only getting quiet to make sure it’s your inner voice you’re hearing and not the input of others.
When I was laid off from my corporate jobs, people noticed I was oddly calm. While others were freaking out, landing in panic mode, I was steady. I knew that I’d be fine. I trusted that this was happening for a reason. Of course, there were some logistical things to look after to make sure my family would be looked after, but I had a deep inner knowing that everything would work out. And it did — every time.
Intuition let me know in 2020, that we were safe.
Intuition makes my writing and coaching work easier. When I write, I turn off my brain and let the words flow. Unobstructed, unfiltered, just bring my body to the page and let the words out. Editing comes later, which can also be an intuitive process. When working with clients, they’ll show me a piece of writing. As I read, my eyes might get stuck on a particulate sentence or section. Usually, I don’t know why, so I ask, “tell me more about this part.”
Almost always, I strike something. Perhaps they wrote something they felt they had to and didn’t feel good about it, or they were unconsciously holding back.
Following our intuition means we’re present in the moment. In the present is where we have all our power. Only when we start to worry about the future or rehash the past, does intuition get cloudy.
Are there negative aspects to being guided by intuition? Can you give a story or example to explain what you mean?
The only potential downside I see to intuition is communicating my knowing when others don’t understand or appreciate intuition.
When shopping for new homes, I could quickly look at a photo of the home and know it’s not aligned. I can’t tell you anything about the neighborhood, schools, or structure, just that we need to keep looking. It can be challenging to get others on board when there aren’t facts to back up my decisions.
Can you give some guidance about when one should make a decision based on their intuition and when one should use other methods to come to a decision?
Always make decisions from your intuition. The key is to learn how to fully trust it. If you only follow your intuition half the time, it will become challenging to discern what’s intuition and what’s outside noise.
You can still seek other methods. If you need brain surgery and you’re evaluating a handful of doctors, you can look into their track records, and trust your knowing for who to choose.
From your experience or perspective, what are some of the common barriers that hold someone back from trusting their intuition?
Lack of understanding keeps some people back from trusting their intuition. They think intuition comes from the brain. They try to think their way there. They come to question the answers they get because they come from the brain.
Intuition lives in our bodies. Our bodies always know. The key is to get quiet and listen so that we can hear what it’s saying. That instant sensation in your chest, the leaning toward or away from something, the unconscious jolt — that’s your intuition speaking through your body.
Here is the central question of our discussion. What are five methods that someone can use to become more in touch with their intuition? (Please share a story or example for each)
1 . Heal your wounds.
It’s challenging to discern what’s your intuition and what’s coming from your wounding need to keep you safe. The more you heal, the quicker you can intuit the most aligned move.
2 . Get into your body.
Get to know, understand, and trust the messages your body is sharing — sometimes screaming. Our bodies are wise. Every stomach rumble, rash, or ache has a message. To become present in the body, try movement practices like yoga, walking outdoors, and sitting quietly.
3 . Eat more plants.
By eating clean — plenty of fresh spring water, green juices, smoothies, raw food, fruit — your body begins to clear. When your body receives life-giving foods, you’re a clearer vessel to recognize your intuition. My most intuitive days happen when I’m on a juice cleanse or eating loads of raw fruits and vegetables.
4 . Write.
When we write, especially with pen and paper, we slow our brains down. With our brains moving just a little slower, we can notice the sensations arising in our bodies. A regular journaling practice such as Morning Pages, a term coined by author Julia Cameron, is three stream-of-consciousness pages of writing every morning. Come to the page every day and write whatever is on your mind and heart. You’ll notice trends, see where you need change, and will likely see some surprises on the page, thinking, “where did that come from?” That’s your intuition.
5 . Practice.
Test drive your intuition with seemingly small decisions each day. Deciding whether to have tomato soup or a taco salad for lunch. Quiet your mind and sit with each decision for a quick moment. Your body will tell you. Notice if your body leans forward or you feel an upward, expanding sensation — that’s a yes. Feeling a contraction or downward pull — that’s a no.
You are a person of significant influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
I believe that everyone has a story to tell. And you don’t need to call yourself a writer to tell it. Too many people are afraid to write and share their stories because a teacher or parent told them they weren’t a good writer. When we write what’s true, it’s what connects us to others. Your story may be exactly what someone needs to read today.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
https://theintuitivewritingschool.com/
https://www.instagram.com/theintuitivewritingschool/
https://www.facebook.com/theintuitivewritingschool
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacqueline-fisch-writer
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!
About The Interviewer: Maria Angelova, MBA is a disruptor, author, motivational speaker, body-mind expert, Pilates teacher and founder and CEO of Rebellious Intl. As a disruptor, Maria is on a mission to change the face of the wellness industry by shifting the self-care mindset for consumers and providers alike. As a mind-body coach, Maria’s superpower is alignment which helps clients create a strong body and a calm mind so they can live a life of freedom, happiness and fulfillment. Prior to founding Rebellious Intl, Maria was a Finance Director and a professional with 17+ years of progressive corporate experience in the Telecommunications, Finance, and Insurance industries. Born in Bulgaria, Maria moved to the United States in 1992. She graduated summa cum laude from both Georgia State University (MBA, Finance) and the University of Georgia (BBA, Finance). Maria’s favorite job is being a mom. Maria enjoys learning, coaching, creating authentic connections, working out, Latin dancing, traveling, and spending time with her tribe. To contact Maria, email her at angelova@rebellious-intl.com. To schedule a free consultation, click here.
Keeping In Touch With Your Intuition: Jacqueline Fisch Of The Intuitive Writing School On How To… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.